


A Simple Gold Band

by Chiefchopstix



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Breakfast table conversation, F/M, Mentioned Diana Fowley
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:28:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26037145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chiefchopstix/pseuds/Chiefchopstix
Summary: Scully wants to know why Mulder has kept his wedding ring from his marriage to Diana.
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	A Simple Gold Band

**Author's Note:**

> No explanation for Mulder's wedding ring has always bothered me.

He and I have never spoken about his first marriage, not at length anyway. Only a casual mention or comment here-and-there. I only know this about his marriage to Diana Fowley: "It was a mistake" and "a wasted 3 years of my life." I never knew that he kept his gold wedding band from their union, until I found it as I was putting away laundry.  
~  
"Good morning," I say to him as I kiss his right temple.  
"Good morning," he replies. He stands up and pours me a cup of tea. He made bacon and eggs for breakfast and placed it in the oven to keep warm. He retrieves my plate with a flourish and places the meal in front of me. He's always been a gentleman. One of the many qualities I love about him.  
"Mulder?"  
"Hmm?"  
"Why didn't you tell me you kept your wedding band from your marriage to Diana?"  
He lowers the newspaper and removes his eyeglasses. He had been eating a piece of toast, and he places the remainder of it back onto his plate. I can see the wheels of his mind turning as he weighs his words carefully, "That was a long time ago."  
"That's all you have to say? No elaboration? I didn't think you were that sentimental?"  
"This is exactly why I have never said anything. It's just a piece of jewelry."  
"Just a piece of jewelry? Do you believe the engagement ring you've given me as just a piece of jewelry?"  
"That's not what I meant." He begins to run his fingers through his hair in frustration. "When are you going to put my past with Diana to rest? She is dead, much like my marriage was to her. She was abusive. She was a manipulator. She was dishonest. Diana left me empty and broken." He collapsed back onto his chair, emotionally spent.  
"If it meant nothing, then why did you keep your wedding band?"  
"It belonged to my father."  
"Your father?"  
"Yes. He left it on the kitchen counter when he separated from my mom. My mother kept it and put it away. I never asked my parents for financial help. I always paid my own way. Hell, I even applied for every academic scholarship that was available in order to fund my tuition. When my mother met Diana....after our engagement....Mom noticed the expensive ring I had given her. She asked me if I planned on wearing a wedding band too. Before I could even answer, Diana said that she was making that a requirement for me. Mom pulled me aside and gave me Dad's simple gold wedding band. She knew I couldn't afford a ring for myself after seeing Diana's ring. She told me she had kept the ring for me because Dad wanted me to have it. I knew that wasn't true, but I accepted it anyway. I kept it because it's the only thing I have left of my father's, except for my last name."  
Mulder sat, head in hands, lost in thoughts of the past. I had let my deep seated jealousy of Diana get the best of me again. Even in death she still loomed large in my relationship with Mulder. I stood up and walked the length of our kitchen table towards him. I gently brought his head to rest on my growing baby bump. He hugged me and murmured that he was sorry for keeping a secret from me. I lifted his face and kissed his forehead.  
"I'm sorry for assuming the worst."  
"I thought I had given Diana everything, but she never had my heart. It was yours as soon as you walked into my basement office. My only regret is that I hadn't confessed my love sooner."  
"You may not have said it in words, but you showed it in your actions. I always felt safe around you, even in all the darkness."  
"The Fluke-man case too?"  
"I could have gone the rest of my life without you bringing up that subject again."  
Mulder looked at the kitchen clock. It was barely 9:30 in the morning. "What's on our agenda today? Lay around the house and be lazy? Go back to bed for some sweet lovin'? He suggested while arching his eyebrows.  
"We still haven't picked out a wedding band for you. That's only if you would like to wear one? I won't make it mandatory."  
He smiled his lopsided grin, "It would be an honor to show everyone that I belong to you, and only you."  
~  
The End

• The X-Files, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully were created by Chris Carter.


End file.
